Nuclear decontamination device and a method of decontaminating radioactive materials

Abstract

This is an efficient nuclear decontamination device using the laser light to remove the radioactive substance from the polluted parts of the radioactive object sample in the nuclear devices and facilities. In the nuclear decontamination device, the laser source (11) of the oscillator and amplifier system is used to irradiate on the surface (20) of the decontamination object sample through the condensing optics (12). The controller (13) optimizes the laser energy density on the surface by using both of the laser sources (11) and condensing optics (12). In the optimization, the energy density per pulse is controlled by optics system (12) of condensing within the range of 1 J / cm2-1000 J / cm2 in the surface of the decontamination object sample (20). Minimum beam spot size and Rayleigh length are chosen to keep the energy density per pulse in the above-mentioned range of the energy density.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]This invention relates to a nuclear decontamination device and a method of removing radioactive substances on the surface of an object to be decontaminated, the surface of the object being polluted with the radioactive substances.[0003]2. Description of the Related Art[0004]At dismantlement, abandonment, and the regular maintenance of the nuclear devices and facilities like nuclear reactors and accelerators (hereinafter, the accelerators and similar ones) that generate a strong radiation, it is mandatory to abandon the material polluted with the radioactive substance. Whenever the polluted parts of the nuclear devices and facilities are dismantled and abandoned, it is mandatory to abandon it after the radioactive substance such as 60Co (contaminant) and other radioisotopes have to be removed from the parts. A number of methods of the nuclear decontamination have been well known to remove the radioactive substance from t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0030]Because the invention is consisted as above-mentioned already, the nuclear decontamination of the polluted object sample can be efficiently done by using the laser light.

Problems solved by technology

However, whenever the decontamination processing on stainless steel using the same laser was done on the same condition of the carbon steel, the decontamination efficiency was reported to be extremely low, almost no effect, and insufficient in the above-mentioned non-patent documents 1.

That is, it was difficult to decontaminate efficiently in an actual radioactive object sample that was polluted inside the primary cooling system being made from stainless steel in the nuclear power plant by using the laser light.

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